Second on the first special of the day, 16 seconds behind Marc Coma, and fourth on the second special (at 1′:26), Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM) maintains his second place overall 6:46 behind Dakar teammate Coma, with Helder Rodrigues just holding on to third place (at 24:31).

Stages 12 and 13 and almost 700km of special are all that remain in the 2011 Dakar – the 33rd edition of the world’s toughest race – and Yamaha are on the edge of another top-of-the-leader-board finish thanks to the skills and exertions of Helder Rodrigues and his Yamaha Racing France Ipone team.